BRUSSELS, Feb 22: President George Bush called the French leader by his first name Jacques, ate "French fries", and joked about inviting the Iraq invasion opponent to his Texas ranch, saying, "I'm looking for a good cowboy."

Mr Bush's self-described working dinner with President Jacques Chirac, like the rest of his European tour, was meant to showcase his willingness to reach out to long-time European critics, including Mr Chirac, who led opposition to the invasion.

A senior Bush administration official described their meeting in Brussels on Monday as the best ever - "warm under any measure" - and proof relations had come a long way from the tense days before the Iraq invasion, when the US Congress renamed French fries "Freedom Fries" and Mr Bush's plane, Air Force One, served "Freedom Toast" rather than "French toast".

"This is my first dinner, since I've been re-elected, on European soil, and it's with Jacques Chirac - and that ought to say something," Mr Bush said with Mr Chirac at his side.

"It ought to say how important this relationship is for me personally and how important this relationship is for my country," Mr Bush told reporters. Even the food was conciliatory. They ate French fries, which Mr Bush was keen to point out.

Their meeting lasted far longer than planned - 2-1/2 hours instead of 1-1/2 - and they laughed a lot, French presidential spokesman Jerome Bonnafont told reporters. "It was one of their best meetings and best extended discussions ever," the Bush administration official effused.

Few relationships were as badly frayed by the Iraq issue as theirs. In an April 2003 interview, Mr Bush said there were some strains in ties between Washington and Paris because it "appeared to some in our administration and our country that the French position was anti-American". Mr Bush said in the interview that Mr Chirac should not expect an invitation to his Texas ranch any time soon.

GOOD ADVICE: But before their working dinner of lobster risotto and filet of beef in bordelaise sauce, both leaders made the case that all was well now. Mr Bush declared: "I've really been looking forward to this moment." -Reuters